


『PHASE OUT』

by pretense



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 13:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3812449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretense/pseuds/pretense
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Throwing his bag to the bed, Aoba gets his desktop running. Ren’s poncho-wearing avatar materializes on screen.<br/>“Welcome back, Aoba.” [Vocaloid AU for RenAo week]</p>
            </blockquote>





	『PHASE OUT』

**Author's Note:**

> For [RenAo Week](http://renaoweek.tumblr.com) on tumblr~ Day 5 theme: Alternate Universe  
> I chose Vocaloid~ because Ren's VA is a life ruiner.  
> The lyrics may sound sinister but this is honestly one goofball of a fic~

_That way, this way, the devil’s over here_  
_You’re playing right into my hands  
_ __**I want you**

* * *

“A - o - ba.”

He grins, toggling a bit with the pitch and speed.

“Ao-ba”

A little more. The fluorescent glow of the monitor bathes his enthusiastic face.

“Aoba.”

Hm. Kind of flat. A small tweak with the bass.

“ _Aoba._ ”

Perfect.

Sitting back on his swivel chair, Aoba Seragaki beams at his creation. Setting the headphone mic closer to his lips, he greets him.

“Hello, Ren.”

“Aoba.” Golden eyes blink at him, a fanged smile lighting up the pixel features. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Same here!” is Aoba’s giddy response. “Hey, I’m going to test out your vocal range, okay?”

“Please do.”

 

Ren’s engine was released some four years ago but it’s already considered an outdated model. Idol software recently became a big hit and soon just about every brand is touting their high-spec creations, claiming to be better than the competition. A lot of the original engines got reboots to keep up with the sudden demand but an unlucky few - the ones that never sold well to begin with - got disposed of.

Aoba had always been a music lover but karaoke machines never agreed with him. He taught himself how to play a guitar and more or less got the hang of the drums at the arcade but that’s the extent of his musical prowess. Besides, he can’t even start a band when his friends aren’t into music as much as he is.

Mizuki is the artist, with his white-ink choker tattoo. He’s planning to get another one and Aoba has to refuse his proposal to get matching friendship tattoos for just about the millionth time. They’re definitely pretty to look at but Aoba prefers to remain unmarked, thank you.

Koujaku is the ladies man. Aoba doesn’t bother to remember the names of his girlfriend of the week. Despite being very meticulous on his appearance - his hair, specifically - he has a knack for constantly getting into bar fights. It’s usually the ex that his latest girlfriend left for him.

So it is to Aoba’s extreme delight that he found the installment pack for Ren ( _in mint condition!!!_ ) at the junk shop where he part times.  You’d think that with the mass market demand idol softwares would come cheaper but nope. Prices only skyrocket as more and more people get into the craze of having a digital voice render their scratch paper poetry.

...Not that Aoba has a lot of talent to brag about but... well... he did win that one commercial jingle contest back in high school.

Anyway. He’s got Ren now.

* * *

Making music is a lot harder than Aoba ever imagined.

He has made remixes before - usually for cheap birthday gifts - and he has quite a number of followers on his

Silent Oath channel. He has even befriended this foreign guy named Noiz who’s an avid listener and makes up for most of his play count.

Although there has been squabbles (to put it lightly) on whether or not idol software compositions count as “real music” Aoba thinks of how he’s just using his new program as a take off point. Once he gets the hang of it, he’s sure that he can become the one-man music sensation he has always dreamed of.

Throwing his bag to the bed, Aoba gets his desktop running. Ren’s poncho-wearing avatar materializes on screen.

“Welcome back, Aoba.”

“How have you been?” Aoba customarily asks. He can have Ren on speaker mode today since his Granny (who has expressed dislike for EDM and similarly loud genres) is staying over at a friend’s for poker night. Moving the cursor to “pat” Ren’s head, Aoba smiles at the cute pixelated blush that pops up.

“I - I’m running in optimal condition!”

For a dated program, Ren’s graphics aren’t too shabby. “Glad to hear it,” Aoba beams, moving the cursor away to open up his last saved file. “Right, then. I think we overdid it with the rhythm yesterday so I’m gonna take out a few notches and slow down some parts.”

“Understood.” Ren does a little nod, watching Aoba toggle with the controls. He quickly snaps to attention when Aoba tests out certain portions.

Since Ren runs on a first generation engine, his operational tools are limited to the basics. Aoba’s reprogramming might as well have been an overhaul of his factory settings. He can now support a wider variety of beats and rhythms. It takes nearly half a dozen tries before Aoba is satisfied with the rendition.

Ren does a little bow following his full performance.

“Uwahh, that was perfect, Ren!” Aoba claps his hands in delight. “Everything came together! I’m so glad!”

“It’s all thanks to you, Aoba.” Ren gives a toothy smile in response.

Aoba has no idea if digital idols were programmed to be this sentimental. Pre-programmed gratitude shouldn’t make his face heat up like this but it does. “N-Nuh-uh,” he denies. “You’re the one who did all the singing.”

Golden eyes stare out the screen. “But Aoba is the one who arranged everything.”

Holding a fist over his mouth to keep control of his emotions, Aoba takes deep breaths before answering. “Then that makes us partners, Ren.”

“Partners,” Ren echoes, a contemplative furrow in his brows. Then a slow smile blooms on his sharp features. “I like that.”

* * *

 “Master!!”

A sudden weight latches onto his back and Aoba nearly loses his footing. The “attack” displaces his headphones and --

_“No, no, that dude’s a fake”  
_ _You gotta say and realize it – too late!_

“Wah!!” Aoba hastily presses the pause button, avoiding eye contact with passersby who had made disgruntled huffs at his music’s volume. Setting a long-suffering look at the whirlwind of a man who’d crashed into him, Aoba gives a wry smile. “How many times do I have to tell you that tackling isn’t a proper way to greet people?”

“Ah! I’m sorry!” Clear puts his hands together and bows his head, taking a peek with one eye. “But I was waving you over and you weren’t responding, Master.”

“And stop calling me, Master, geez.” Aoba rests his headphones around his neck, pulling his ponytailed hair out so it won’t get tangled.

Clear shakes his head, pouting. “No can do~ You’ve got about a bajillion followers on Silent Oath. You’re practically a rockstar now~”

“It’s not a bajillion… Just around 20,000 I think...” Aoba scuffs his shoe against the pavement. Following his success in custom-programming Ren, Aoba had easier means to compose his music resulting in more uploads to his channel. With no small thanks to a certain brat in Germany, his compositions eventually got featured on the homepage with under the “Most Played” accolade. Suffice to say, the hoard started coming around from then on. It’s all very flattering and meeting Clear only made it better. For the most part.

“That’s still an amazing count,” the white-haired man gushes. “Anyway.” Clear straightens up, fixing the sunshine yellow scarf around his shoulders. “Are you in a hurry? ‘Cause there’s someone I’d like you to meet!”

Checking his watch, Aoba hums. “I have time.”

“Perfect!”

And that’s how Aoba finds himself in a cakeshop, having coffee with an agent from Scratch Records. The man gives a firm handshake, as if the grim line of his lips isn’t enough of a statement.

Mink, as his calling card states, is looking for “talented artists” to be part of a special concept album that Scratch is planning to launch to penetrate the EDM market. Clear has already enlisted and they’re in the process of recruiting at least six more for the project to get greenlighted.

At this point, Clear excitedly takes over, talking about how they might get to perform at a real live concert (aka the album launch) should the project meet positive responses. He has already emailed the proposition to other local artists, exclaiming how lucky it is that he happens to see Aoba today!

Now Aoba has only known Clear for maybe a month, after long chatbox commentaries on Aoba’s Immer Sie track where they discovered that they not only live in the same country but are also living one train station away from each other. So while they’re on (exceedingly) friendly terms, he simply cannot believe that Clear is offering him this deal.

For one thing, Scratch is _famous_. Like, underground famous. A LOT (if not all) of Aoba’s favorite bands are signed on to the label and this might be the big break that he’s been waiting for but --

“You know that I use idol software, right?” Aoba steeps his hands together, looking right into unnervingly dark eyes. It has been almost a year since he unearthed Ren from the  bowels of Junk Shop Mediocrity but despite his boost in popularity, he’d never really produced the EP that his subscribers are clamoring for. It just doesn’t feel right to sell something that technically isn’t “all” his own work. He’s not like Clear who actually has a voice that belongs in some heavenly choir.

“So long as your software is licensed we could get in contact with the manufacturer and work out a deal,” Mink steadily replies.

Aoba gets the feeling that this man doesn’t have much of a life outside his job but it really isn’t his place to question it.

“What engine do you run?” Mink asks.

“Er…” Aoba bites the inside of his cheek. It’s not that he’s ashamed of Ren’s… datedness… but having Clear around is kind of intimidating; the guy uploaded his beta test of the latest Alpha Brand engine just two days ago and the interface was so sleek it made Aoba tear up a little just watching. “It’s from the Rhyme product line. First gen. The, uh, Ren model.”

“Rhyme?” Clear blinks his wide pink eyes. “Wow. That’s…”

“Hmph.” Mink picks up his coffee cup, taking a sip.

Aoba must’ve imagined the small smirk that the agent hides behind his drink. Turning to Clear, he whispers, “Did I say something wrong?”, getting only a smile in response.

“Licences for first gen models, especially from the Rhyme line, have been released into public domain,” Mink tells him. “It’s practically freeware. I’m surprised you haven’t taken advantage of that. All this time you could’ve put up your content for sale.”

Detecting the condescending tone used on him, Aoba puffs up his chest. “Hey. I do my thing for fun. And I do have a free-price payment options on my downloads page, y’know.”

“And how’s that paying off?” Mink challenges with another half-grin.

“Very well, thank you.”

“How would you like to earn more?”

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously this isn't finished yet but I wanted to put this one up before I forget orz  
> This won't be long, though, maybe just two more chapters at most  
>  ~~because i have soulmates to woo, bodyswaps to fix, and that guildwar isn't going to fight itself~~  
>  sidenote: how obvious is it that im bullshitting my way through those music jargons


End file.
